Remix: Indigenous Identities in the 21st Century

Exhibition of Four Visual Artists

April 5, 2008–October 19, 2009

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Native Americans at Harvard College (NAHC) present a new exhibition, REMIX: Indigenous Identities in the 21st Century.

“I’m a sheep in wolf’s clothing, a wolf in shepherd’s skin messaging through smoke signals, satellite and medicine,” Native American DJ and rapper Quese IMC comments on the recontextualization of Native American youth identity in the modern world. Through words, actions, and art, the youth of Native America today must find a balance between old and new; empowered by influences from within their own communities and the world outside, they have “remixed” their identities to reflect their unique cultural heritage. Modern Native American youth identity is rooted in the past, rather than buried by it.

REMIX features the works of four visual artists— Doug Miles (San Carlos Apache), Ryan Red Corn (Osage), Courtney Leonard (Shinnecock), and Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee and Yakama)—along with rapper Quese IMC, who have embraced this ethos, transforming traditional materials, ideas and iconography into powerful contemporary art.

Curated by Kelsey Leonard, Tanner Amdur-Clark, LeRenzo Tolbert-Malcom, and Caitlin Young, members of Native Americans at Harvard College, on behalf of the Ivy Native Council in collaboration with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University.